President signs into law Daines’ bill to designate B-47 Ridge in Montana

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) commended the president for signing into law his bipartisan, bicameral bill to name a ridge near Montana’s Emigrant Peak the B-47 Ridge, honoring four U.S. servicemen who died there in a B-47 Bomber crash almost 60 years ago.

“I want to thank President Trump for signing this historic bill into law,” Sen. Daines said on Oct. 13. “I look forward to visiting the B-47 Ridge in the future to remember the men we lost that day.”

On July 23, 1962, a B-47 Bomber originating from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas carrying four men on a routine training mission crashed into the southwestern slope of Emigrant Peak, killing everyone on board, including Capt. Bill Faulconer, Lt. Lloyd Sawyers, Lt. David Sutton, and Lt. Fred Hixenbaugh, according to information provided by Sen. Daines’ office.

In February 2019, Sen. Daines sponsored the B-47 Ridge Designation Act, S. 490, with lead cosponsor U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) to designate the mountain ridge that runs south and west of Emigrant Peak in the Absaroka Range in Montana as the B-47 Ridge, and to permit the installation of a plaque on the ridge in memory of the crash, according to the congressional record bill summary.

U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-MT) introduced the same-named H.R. 1267 in the U.S. House of Representatives . The U.S. Senate on Feb. 12 approved the measure by unanimous consent, with the House passing it on Sept. 21. The president signed the legislation into law on Oct. 13.

“The president did right by the brave men whose lives were cut short on that tragic night years ago, by signing our bipartisan bill into law today,” said Sen. Tester. “Dedicating this ridge to the four servicemen who lost their lives while serving our country will keep them alive in the memories of Montanans for generations.”